The invention herein is directed to a measuring and gauging system for use in conjunction with a vehicle body and frame straightening apparatus. Specifically, the invention is directed to straightening and reforming vehicle bodies, frames, and other parts of damaged or misaligned vehicles back to their dimensions and specifications that have been precisely laid down by the vehicle manufacturer. These dimensions and specifications are provided by the manufacturer and others in the form of charts for each and every vehicle which indicate certain reference surfaces and locations for measurement purposes. When these measurements are in correct configuration, then the chassis is straight.
In recent years automotive vehicles have been constructed almost entirely of what has been called a "unitized" body. In such a construction the entire frame and body of the vehicle are a unit assembly. Such a construction has been found to be more economical, lighter weight, and can equal or exceed the strength of a conventional frame-type automobile used heretofore. The repair of a unitized vehicle body necessitates the use of frame straightening machines which are designed to pull the damaged vehicle frame into proper alignment. The manufacturer provides "fixturing holes" and other identifiable locus in the frame of the vehicles as alignment data, which can be utilized for remeasurement and realignment when damage occurs.
For these purposes, a variety of methods and devices have been proposed to indicate or measure possible faulty or misaligned dimensions on the vehicle. To correct such misaligned vehicles such methods and apparatus as those disclosed in the Finis L. Chisum U.S. Pat. No. 3,360,066, issued Dec. 28, 1971 and U.S. Pat. No. Re. 31,636, reissued Jul. 1, 1984 from a patent issued Jun. 10, 1975 are used.
In order to straighten the frames and align the bodies of collision damaged automotive vehicles, it is imperative that the person or persons doing the collision damage repairs to frames and bodies have accurate, up to date alignment data of the particular vehicle being repaired.
The measurement/alignment data furnished by the automotive manufacturers to the collision repair industry for this purpose is far to complex for the average repair technician to use during the repair of the vehicle. There is far to much data for him to decipher which makes it nearly impossible to use this data in a typical collision repair operation.
At present, the best measurement information available used during a typical collision damage repair is provided by a variety of publishers and is usually taken from a vehicle of the same make and model by means other than electronically and is compared with the damaged vehicle in numerous ways.
In many cases after a new car model is introduced and sold to the public, body and frame alignment data in any form is not available for months after the new model hits the streets.
In the past, body and frame alignment technicians have had to make do with whatever information they could get at a given time to complete the repair. This type of a measuring data gathering system is just not adequate in today's market.
Heretofore, there has been no suitable means to obtain electronic measurement data from new automotive vehicles. Neither has there been a suitable means to use that data with the aid of a computer. There is no suitable means to take data obtained by electronic means and print this data into a hard copy book and have the same electronic measurement data recorded on electronic media suitable to provide other computers with this electronic measurement data for use while a collision damaged vehicle is being repaired.